


Loneliest Time of the Year

by PaulrissaRahany



Series: 2020 Benevieve Christmas [6]
Category: Heartstrings - Fandom, Manifest (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:00:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaulrissaRahany/pseuds/PaulrissaRahany
Summary: When Genevieve comes to 2019, she loses her memory of her past life, but she still finds an expected family. That doesn't mean she's not still struggling unconsciously with her current life.
Relationships: Genevieve Carson/Ben Stone (Manifest)
Series: 2020 Benevieve Christmas [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040186
Kudos: 1





	Loneliest Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> Due to technical difficulties, December 19th of the 25 days of Benevieve Christmas has to be a story instead of the video planned!

Sleigh bells ringing, still I feel sad  
It'll have you thinking of all the things that you don't have  
\---  
It made no sense why she felt the overwhelming sense of loss at this time of year. Genevieve’s parents had died when she was still a child. Since then, she’d always enjoyed the busy streets of New York. It had made sense to indulge herself in the life of the city instead of her lonely apartment. 

Yet, back from her trip to Jamaica--the realization that she had lost five years of her life--it had caused the holiday season to rip all happiness from her heart. Luckily, despite the lonely feeling in her heart, there were positives throughout her life. The plane had created a small family for all of them. They were desperate to piece the past five years together, but most still had some family to hold onto through the hard time. 

Instead, Genevieve had her co-workers who had welcomed her back with open arms. 

It was easy to try and overlook the obvious missing piece of her holiday piece until she was confronted with the perfect group of Montego 828 members. 

The Stone Family

It was the most obvious instance of how the five years had quickly passed by all of them. Young Cal Stone with his older twin sister Olive still pulled at her heart. 

Perhaps she didn’t have a reason to buy presents for anyone other than her co-workers, but she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing the Avenger action figure from her local Disney store.  
\---  
So somebody show me  
How am I supposed to have fun  
At the loneliest time of year?

“Genevieve!” Cal called out as he came rushing towards her. They’d decided that Christmas Eve would be the best day for everyone to meet up and exchange presents with everyone. It felt impossible to get everyone a present or to think that she had family to finally celebrate with. 

“Hey buddy!” He was already in her arms, before she could get anything else out. Her arms were full of presents, but they needed to have a ten year old in them as well. 

“Cal, honey--” A warning from his mother made his grip loosen, but not completely fall away. “Ben, help Genny out, please?” 

Ben’s hands rubbed against hers causing her to yank her hands back. There was a spark like a distant memory between them. They triggered dreams of the past and impossible futures each time they were able to briefly touch. They were wonderful, but they were awful. 

The presents fell to the ground, but they both followed them down. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. 

“It’s my fault,” Ben argued. 

It was neither of their faults, but they both grabbed onto the presents to try and clamour them together. “He was just excited to see you.” 

They both weren’t sure why the youngest Stone loved her so much, but it was sweet. It made this miserable season even more exciting. “Well, or the presents,” she joked. “I’ve never had much family to spoil so this was an exciting turn of events.” 

“Oh, he’ll never turn away any amount of toys.” Ben let her walk in first, but Genny quickly held the door inside open for him as well. 

\---  
If I'm feeling lonely  
I can't be the only one (only one)  
Drowning in my tears (drowning in my tears)  
\---

She wasn’t going to cry at a Christmas party, but she felt like she was missing something between everyone. There was no doubt love for her at the house party, but it felt so wrong between them all. 

“Anything wrong?” 

The voice had her grabbing the coat closer to her body. It was cold outside, but the fact that he had come out to meet her meant more than she could appropriately say. 

“No! Not--really.” Genny smiled as Ben came up to sit next to her on the swing set outdoors. “I lost my parents awhile ago--so Christmas has never really been celebrated in my adult life. This year--something’s different.” 

“You mean other than the fact that we lost five years of our lives on a plane?” 

It was a simple excuse, but it all felt so much more than that. There were so many things that were wrong and the thought of them missing out was only one piece of it. “Yes, other than that.” 

“I don’t know if this helps any, but I’m glad that we get to spend this holiday together. It feels like everyone on the flight has just become family over these past few months. I can’t imagine you not being here….or Saanvi. You’re both family.” 

It was simple. A sweet gesture, but it made Genevieve feel even more alone than before. 

“Thanks, Ben. That means a lot.”


End file.
